Geography

Papua New Guinea occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea,
just north of Australia, and many outlying islands. The Indonesian
province of West Papua (Irian Jaya) is to the west. To the north and east
are the islands of Manus, New Britain, New Ireland, and Bougainville, all
part of Papua New Guinea. About one-tenth larger than California, its
mountainous interior has only recently been explored. Two major rivers,
the Sepik and the Fly, are navigable for shallow-draft vessels.

Government

Constitutional monarchy with parliamentary democracy.

History

The first inhabitants of the island New Guinea were Papuan, Melanesian,
and Negrito tribes, who altogether spoke more than 700 distinct languages.
The eastern half of New Guinea was first explored by Spanish and
Portuguese explorers in the 16th century. In 1828, the Dutch formally took
possession of the western half of the island (now the province of West
Papua [Irian Jaya], Indonesia). In 1885, Germany formally annexed the
northern coast and Britain took similar action in the south. In 1906,
Britain transferred its rights to British New Guinea to a newly
independent Australia, and the name of the territory was changed to the
Territory of Papua. Australian troops invaded German New Guinea (called
Kaiser-Wilhelmsland) in World War I and gained control of the territory
under a League of Nations mandate. New Guinea and some of Papua were
invaded by Japanese forces in 1942. After being liberated by the
Australians in 1945, it became a United Nations trusteeship, administered
by Australia. The territories were combined and called the Territory of
Papua and New Guinea (PNG).

Australia granted limited home rule in 1951. Autonomy in internal
affairs came nine years later, and in Sept. 1975, Papua New Guinea
achieved complete independence from Britain.

A violent nine-year secessionist movement took place on the island of
Bougainville. In 1989, guerrillas of the Bougainville Revolutionary Army
(BRA) shut down the island's Australian-owned copper mine, a major source
of revenue for the country. The rebels believed that Bougainville deserved
a greater share of the earnings for its copper. In 1990, the BRA declared
Bougainville's independence, whereupon the government blockaded the island
until Jan. 1991, when a peace treaty was signed.

On July 17, 1998, an earthquake-triggered tsunami off the northern
coast of PNG killed at least 1,500 people and left thousands more injured
and homeless.

Many analysts say Papua New Guinea is in danger of political and
economic collapse. The country's political system is unstable, the crime
rate has soared, corruption is rampant, and essential services including
health care and education continue to decline. According to the World
Bank, 70% of the country lives in poverty. In 2006, Australia announced
that it was gravely concerned about the country and had peacekeeping
forces at the ready.

Sir Michael Somare was elected to a second consecutive term as prime minister in
August 2007, defeating Sir Julius Chan.

Governor-General Sir Paulias Matane was reelected in June 2010, but was removed from office after the Supreme Court ruled that the election was unconstitutional. Jeffery Nape became acting governor-general on Dec. 13, but without explanation, Michael Ogio took over as acting governor-general on Dec. 20.

In April 2011, a tribunal convicted Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare of misconduct and suspended him for two weeks. Citing ill health, he extended his absence and Sam Abal became acting prime minister. Somare officially resigned in June.

In August, the parliamentary-designated vacancy in the prime minister's office and the election of Peter O'Neill were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court, who then ordered the reinstatement of Sir Michael Somare as prime minister. Mr. O'Neill refused to acknowledge the order and remained in office. A rebel group led by Colonel Sasa mutinied, but failed in its attempt to restore Somare's prime ministership. Parliamentary elections take place in June 2012.